The secret life of a British Soldier
by beccaleelee
Summary: Prior planning and preparation prevents piss-poor performance. The story of how Wolf Luke got to be the way he is today. Includes heartbreak and general nastiness.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Prior Planning and Preparation prevent piss-poor performance, the Seven Ps. That was the law that controlled Luke's life. It was the favorite phrase of his father's, and the man repeated his code all the time.

One of Luke's earliest memories was of trying to read _Treasure Island_. His family had just moved for the third time that year, and as usual the first thing that Luke had done was join the local library. Books were the boy's sanctuary, his way to escape from a reality in which he never felt welcome. It didn't take long for the librarians to adopt the lonely child as one of their own.

Whenever he entered the library, there was a book hand-picked by a librarian waiting behind the main desk for him. After three months in the new town, his favorite librarian, a kind grandmotherly woman, laid _Treasure Island_ in front of Luke. The boy took it home and wrote out a schedule. He had two weeks to read his longest book yet, and so he desperately tried to keep to his schedule. Because of this, nearly every night he fell asleep with his face buried in a book, his flashlight glowing beneath the covers.

The morning of the twelfth day arrived all too soon, and Luke had to return the book to the library despite not having finished reading. His father drove him there, and then took his hand firmly and pulled him into the library. "But I'm not done with it," the young boy murmured, watching as his father handed the book over to the woman at the desk. "You should have planned better," the man admonished sternly. "You need to follow the seven Ps. You can check it out again in two weeks."

Eleven days later, the small military family moved halfway across the country.

*********

Luke heard those words many other times, but none seemed less fair as the time in what would be his last year in school. He had been accepted to the university of his choice, and he was absolutely thrilled. He had spent the last four years terrified that he would have no choice but to follow in his father's footsteps and join the military as soon as he was old enough. Luke had no intention of avoiding the military life; it was in his blood after all, but he had always wanted to go to uni first, and maybe even get married as well.

But then came the day to write the check to the university, and he found that he did not have enough money in the bank. He sucked up his pride and begged his father to help him pay, or to at least give him permission to take a loan. The man frowned steadily at his son and said flatly, "Well perhaps you should have planned that out a little better, Lucas. Did you forget your seven Ps again?"

Heartbroken, Luke went about joining up. It wasn't hard, his father was well known and his influence helped Luke get accepted. His time in the army wasn't terribly bad. In fact, he was excellent at it all. So excellent, in fact, that he was recommended for SAS very early in his career.

*********

The next time Luke heard those words, they were not spoken by his father. Instead they were spoken by his fiancé just after she ended their year-long engagement over the phone. "Sarah, I can't control what my orders are," he pleaded to her. "We can just put the wedding off another few weeks."

"A few more weeks?" came the furious reply. "We've already put it off three times!" The woman's voice softened. "I still love you, but I can't stand being your second choice to the military. I guess your father is right: you need to plan and prepare better before you'll ever be happy." There was a soft click as the phone disconnected.

Luke stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, before turning and finding his unit again. He had just rejoined them when the Sergeant stomped into their midst towing a teenage boy behind him. And wasn't that just perfect. His unit had been ordered to stay at the camp an extra two weeks for this kid? His engagement was over because of some spoiled little brat whose rich daddy wanted him to learn how to "rough it" in the real world? He gritted his teeth and scowled at the kid.

**********

The last time Luke heard those words was on one of the worst days of his life. He had gotten the message four days after the call had come in, and had immediately jumped on a plane and returned to his parents' side.

He sprinted into the hospital and ran straight to the proper room, completely bypassing the secretary at his desk. Luke reached the room and was greeted by a high-pitched keening and a steady, horribly flat line. He slid to a halt and stood frozen at the foot of the bed. His lips silently moved as he took in the still form on the bed.

A nurse already in the room reached over and shut off the machine telling Luke that his mother had died quite a while ago. The woman quietly exited and closed the door softly behind him. At the sound of the door shutting, Luke's father looked up at his son with a look of absolute loathing. "Good job Lucas. What an excellent performance. You've certainly grasped the whole idea of the Seven Ps," the older man snarled, making every word sound like a curse. "You certainly haven't let us down," he continued over Luke's sputtered protests: it was as though he couldn't hear his son. "You know, I'm almost glad that Clair didn't have to see you before she died. At least now, her final thought wasn't about what a failure her only child turned out to be." Luke felt his mouth fall open in shock as his father continued. "Get out Luke. I can't look at you right now."

Stunned, James did as he was ordered, acting on automatic. He desperately wanted to call Sarah and tell her what had happened, but he hadn't spoken to her in years. Instead he called his old training unit, and they had a little reunion party, getting ridiculously drunk and helping their comrade forget his troubles. They drank to Luke's mother, and without their knowledge they sent Luke's father off in style at the same time. Unbeknownst to his son, the older man very quietly drove his car off a bridge on the way home.


End file.
